Cheap, paperless and light or an actual hard-bound book is a question that can lead to discussion among college students.

“Students are not aware that e-books are available on our library website,” GCC librarian Karen Knotts said.

The electronic books database can be found on the GCC library website. According to Knotts, three search engines of e-books are available: eBook Collection, eBrary College Complete and EBSCOhost.

From these three databases, students can search any keywords for their research and the screen will display and highlight the keywords on the book that was searched.

“It is accessible for students 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Knotts.

Unlike a textbook which has to go through the check-out process, e-books are easy to obtain, even from home. Students don’t have to worry about whether or not the library is open. As long as students have an ID, they can access the three e-book search engines.

Knotts said electronic books may have one drawback.

“The main health concern from reading e-books for too long is that it’s bad for our eyes because of the glare of the computer.” Knotts said.

The physical turning pages and interactive nature of a book may be the preference among students. Some like the physicality of the book.

“I prefer textbooks because I can flip pages back and forth,” said Jamie Jimenez, biochemistry major. “I like having the physical book with me.”

With a textbook, students can have different colored highlighters to mark important sentences and sticky notes on the side. The note-taking on the page can be crucial for college students to study the textbook.

Other students prefer e-books because they are less expensive than the a hardback textbook and weigh less.

“I’d prefer e-books to regular books because of the cost difference,” said Arthur Karagezian who is an English major. “It is much cheaper than [purchasing] regular books. Only thing about regular books is that you physically have a book.”

Students who are more technology-oriented would choose an e-book because they are dependent on their tablet, iPad or laptop. It is convenient to open the files while on the go.

Which do you choose?